Writers
Welcome to my Musings for Writers
For those passionate about writing, you’ll find inspiration and advice for writers, details of my journey as a writer, and news about the industry.
Research, AI and Historical Fiction
For the past eleven months, I’ve been hibernating in my study, working on the latest draft of my second book. I’ve immersed myself in the contrasting worlds of fin-de-siècle Vienna and post-World...
Building Layers
I’m currently working on the latest draft of my second novel, which is a dual timeline set in post-WWI London and fin-de-siècle Vienna, featuring the art and life of Gustav Klimt, and focusing on...
Chasing Your Dreams à la Don Quixote
“When life itself seems lunatic, who knows where madness lies? Perhaps to be too practical is madness. To surrender dreams – this may be madness. Too much sanity may be madness – and maddest of all:...
It is Solved by Walking
My mother and I recently strolled through Cloudehill Gardens in Olinda, enjoying the early autumn leaves on maples and liquidambars, water droplets glistening on lamb’s-ear, glazed blue pots filled...
Renewal
A lemon-scented eucalyptus stands in the centre of my Melbourne backyard, towering thirty-five metres over the garden, its foliage filling the air with a tangy citrus scent. When spring arrives, the...
Write What You Know
Years ago, when I first dabbled with the idea of writing fiction, I read Mark Twain’s advice to ‘write what you know’. However, I didn’t want to write about a former public relations manager, who...
Living Slow
During the past two months, I’ve experienced one of the busiest times of my life. Coordinating an overseas move to repatriate to Australia after sixteen years in Europe, and continuing to work while...
Excellence or perfectionism – which do you strive for?
I was chatting with an artist friend recently about the creative process and we discovered that we both have perfectionist tendencies. Ever since childhood, we have strived to do well at whatever we...
Inspired by Secrets
Inspiration is a fickle creature. It can be abrupt and blatant, experienced through intense life events and relationships, or it can lie buried deep, lurking in the shadows of the past and emerging...